Posts in April 2008

Keep an eye on that! - Expressions with “ojo”

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Hello there! Let´s have a look at some idioms with the word “ojo” (eye) in Spanish.

Ojo a la virulé – black eye
Su hijo se peleó y le pusieron un ojo a la virulé. – His son got into a fight and got a black eye.

Ojos como platos – wide open eyes (because one´s shocked)
El niño miraba a los payasos con los ojos como platos. – The boy looked at the clowns with wide open eyes.

A los ojos de – in someone´s opinion
A los ojos de Pedro, yo tuve la culpa. – In Pedro´s opinion, it was my fault.

Con los ojos cerrados – without thinking, trusting someone
Si me invita Andrés, voy con los ojos cerrados. – If Andrés invites me, I´ll go without thinking.

Andar/ir con ojo/cien ojos – be very careful
Anda con ojo, porque el jefe quiere cazarte en una metedura de pata. – Be very careful, because the boss wants to catch you when you mess up.

¡Dichosos los ojos (que te ven)! – Expression used when you haven´t seen someone for a long time (lit. happy be the eyes!)
¡Cuánto tiempo sin verte! ¡Dichosos los ojos! – Long time no see!

No pegar ojo – Not to sleep a wink
No he pegado ojo toda la noche porque me desvelé. – I didn´t sleep a wink all night because I had insomnia.

Ojo con – used to indicate a warning or a threat
¡Ojo con lo que dices! – Be careful with what you say!

Ser el ojito derecho (de alguien) – Be someone´s favorite person
Julián es el ojito derecho de su abuelo. – Julian is his grandfather´s favorite.

If you know more expressions with “ojo”, don´t just stand there! Comment and share with us! Nos vemos prontito.

 

LEARNING LANGUAGES: BRAIN WORKOUT!

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Everyone knows that knowing a second or third language boosts your brain activity, but do you know to what extent that happens? If you have intermediate to advanced Spanish, read this article from La Vanguardia, a Spanish newspaper. If you don´t, let me sum it up for you. First, kids who grow up bilingual have more brain plasticity; they multitask more easily. Second, learning and knowing a second or third language uses parts of your brain that knowing only your mother tongue doesn´t. Third, adults do have more difficulty learning a foreign language because of their experience in their native language. It deforms your perception and teaches your brain to ignore certain sounds. This is a very good and informative article and it´s worth the read. If you have doubts about vocabulary, post them here and I´ll help you!